Thinkers & Writers Forum

Sound public policy is built on rigorous research, informed debate and the willingness to challenge conventional thinking. Recognising the role of academia and practitioners in shaping evidence-based policymaking, SKOCH Development Foundation established the Thinkers & Writers Forum in 2009 as a knowledge-to-policy platform, where research is subjected to public scrutiny before informing policy discourse.

The Forum provides a meeting ground where researchers, academics, policymakers, administrators, industry experts and development practitioners come together to examine some of India's most pressing development challenges. It bridges the divide between academic research and policymaking by guaranteeing that ideas generated through scholarship are debated, refined and translated into practical policy insights.

Over the years, the Thinkers & Writers Forum has evolved into an important platform for evidence-based policy discourse. It encourages original research grounded in field realities while drawing on global experiences and comparative best practices. The emphasis is not simply on generating new knowledge, but on identifying practical solutions that strengthen governance, improve public service delivery and advance inclusive development.

The Forum covers a wide range of themes central to India's development agenda. These include governance and public administration, financial and digital inclusion, poverty alleviation, health, sanitation, water security, food security, rural electrification, energy, Panchayati Raj Institutions, urban and rural development, women's empowerment, participatory democracy, disaster management, climate resilience and other emerging public policy issues.

Each edition of the Forum attracts hundreds of research paper submissions from universities, research institutions, think tanks and practitioners. These papers undergo a rigorous screening and review process before a select group of authors is invited to present their work before an interdisciplinary audience.

This process makes the Forum more than a conventional academic conference. A number of highly rated papers emerging from the Forum have subsequently been peer-reviewed and published in the Indian Journal of Inclusive Growth, guaranteeing that the knowledge generated reaches a wider audience of policymakers, researchers and development professionals.